The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
by Kioasakka
Summary: (NO LONGER UPDATING.) A novelized version of TP. Link is a simple Ordonian wrangler that is about to set off on the journey of a lifetime. Is Midna more than what she seems? And who is Zant anyway, and why is he so bent on drowing Hyrule in perpetual twilight?
1. TP prologue

**2013 Oct 16: This story will no longer be updated.**

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**Chapter One  
****Thrice Lives Shattered, Thrice Kingdoms Fallen**

"I must commend you. You have done well to have gotten this far in your reign. But that's all about to end."

"You are a weak coward, Zant. You always have been and forever will be. So why don't you just crawl back into your hole and mind your own business?"

He laughed. "Such biting words. But I serve a new master now. And he is by far more powerful."

He advanced toward her, slowly but surely. She could tell… there was something different. His eyes… They were full of hunger and greed, and of a manic nature she had never seen in him before. Whoever this was, it wasn't Zant, and he was approaching. She found herself taking a step back, and then another. He raised an arm and waved it through the air. She was thrown to the ground and fell out of her cloak. A fuzzy feeling overcame her body.

And then she pushed herself up on little arms. Little arms that weren't hers. She frowned and looked at her hands. Her eyes grew wide with horror as she looked them over. These were not her hands. She stood weakly and looked herself over. She was… an imp!

"Zant!" she cried in a childish voice that was not her own. "What have you done to me?"

He laughed once more. "I don't see the big deal. Your new look seems more suitable to you than your old one did, if you ask me."

"Well, I _didn't _ask you, now, did I?" She formed a dark energy ball and sent it flying at him. He waved a cloaked arm and it broke apart. She gasped.

"Your power is nothing compared to mine anymore," he said, grinning. "And I have no further use for you." He zapped her with an energy ball of his own, and she lay motionless, eyelids drooping. He carried her by the scruff of her neck to the portal. He threw her in, and with it a bolt of dark energy. She flew through the portal and into the world of light, and after her came the bolt, smacking full throttle into a mirror. She had no knowledge of the bolt. Rather, she had lost consciousness after she hit the ground, and thus ignored the two demonic beasts that dragged her off.

xxx

"Princess! You must come, quick!"

The blond maiden looked up. A worried soldier stood at her door, and beckoned her frantically to come follow. She stood and followed him to the window. He pointed.

"Look, Princess. What are those creatures? They are headed for the front door!"

She frowned. "Gather the men," she ordered. "We will drive out the intruders when they arrive moments hence. Go, quickly."

The soldier nodded and rushed off. The princess grabbed her sword and hurried up several flights of stairs to the throne room. Soldiers already lingered there, ready and prepared for battle.

"We will take them, Princess," one soldier assured her. "Do not fret. No doubt they will be stopped even before they reach here."

Moments after the soldier spoke, however, the doors flew open and shadow beasts darted inside, gripping soldiers and choking them. A cloaked being walked forth and spoke to the princess, who raised her sword.

"Surrender or die," the cloaked being stated bluntly. "Oh yes, a question for all of Hyrule… Life… or death?"

The two soldiers next to her gasped and glanced at their princess, awaiting some sort of order. But she gave none. Rather, she gripped the sword tightly, hesitated, then dropped it to the floor. It fell with a clang, and the hopes of all in the room fell.

xxx

_Many years earlier…_

The young woman smiled, looking up at the sky. She lived in Ordon Village, where her husband had grown up as a boy and she had moved to almost five years ago. Unlike him and the rest of the people of Ordon, she had the pointed ears of a Hylian from the Lanayru Province. Her hair was of the loveliest reddish-brown and her eyes dark blue. She watched her four-year-old son play with the mayor's daughter, who was one year younger than he. Though she missed the bustling cities of Hyrule Castle Town, she rather enjoyed the peaceful little village of Ordona Province, even more so than she loved the city. She had never seemed in place there, and here she felt she belonged.

Her husband sat next to her. "What are you thinking of?" he inquired. He had light blond hair and gentle green eyes.

"Nothing," she told him, leaning against him. "Everything."

"Ah." He smiled, knowing better than to question the peculiar workings of his beloved wife's mind. He kissed her lightly on her temple.

"I talked to Uli today."

"I'm not surprised." He laughed. Uli was her best friend, and they spoke every day. "What makes this time so special?"

"Oh, Link," she said, swatting at his hand. "Didn't you hear? She and Rusl are finally tying down the knot."

His eyebrows lifted. "Are they, now? Well, it's about time. She mention any specific dates?"

"It'll be a month, but it will happen, I'm sure of it." She sighed. "Love seems so much more romantic in a small town than in the big city. The story of how they met is so idealistic."

Link picked a white daisy, his wife's favorite flower, from the grass. He remembered asking her why such a simple flower was her favorite, and not the rose, seeing as her full name had the word 'rose' in it. She had merely answered saying that the daisy's simplicity was what made it so beautiful, and the rose was already pretty enough that it wasn't appreciated as much. He had been wise enough to not press the matter any further. "Do you remember how _we_ met, my dear Mari?" He tickled her nose with the flower.

She giggled and took her attacker with two fingers, twirling it gently. "I try not to," she teased, sniffing the daisy. It had been quite an incident she had been in the town square, minding her own business, when an owl had swooped down through the plaza. People had screamed and rushed away, but she had laughed and admired the beautiful creature, that seemed to notice her stares and settled in her hair. A young Ordonian rancher named Link rushed in and gently pulled the owl from her hair, apologizing sincerely for ruining it. She remembered laughing and saying it was quite all right, and she rather liked owls. He had begun courting her after some time, and eventually got married and she moved to Ordon Village with him. She'd hit it off right away with all the villagers. They were all fascinated by her life in 'the big city' as they called it, and loved that she was always kind, without a mean-spirited bone in her body.

"But you're glad it happened."

Mari smiled up at her husband. "There isn't a single moment that I regret it."

He took the daisy from her fingers, placed it behind her ear so it stuck out in front of her hair, and kissed her gently on the mouth. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she muttered. "For ever and ever, for all my life and forever after. I won't ever leave you, I promise."

"Nor I you." They kissed again.

That night, disaster struck. Two large, hideous ogres on giant boars came rampaging through the village. Link woke and grabbed the sword Rusl had made for him as a wedding gift upon hearing the screams of the villagers. Mari begged him not to go, but he wouldn't hear of it.

"Stay here where it's safe and protect the boy," he ordered her. He kissed her quickly. "I love you. I'll be back shortly."

"Are you crazy?" she shrieked. "You'll be killed!"

"I'll be back, just stay inside!" Without another word, Link rushed out of the tree house and ran toward the village.

Mari, however, was infuriated at this, and sick with fear. She seized her handmade bow and a quiver of arrows and rushed out after him. When she arrived at the village, she found one of the ogres being attacked by Link and Rusl while the other lay dead on the ground. The surviving ogre grabbed Link by the ankle and held him up. Mari panicked and fired an arrow. It hit the ogre in the hand that was holding Link. He yelled in anger, causing Link to be shaken furiously. Link looked up and glared at Mari.

"Get back inside!" he yelled at her.

She ran towards them. "Not a chance," she told him. She fired several more arrows, planting every one of them on the beast that held her husband captive. Rusl said something to Link, then was knocked aside by an enraged beast that dropped Link and charged after Mari. She didn't have time to do anything. Everything happened so fast. The ogre came after her, raised his spiked club, and brought it down on her just as she fired another arrow. The last thing she heard before she fell down was the cry of, _"Mari! NO!" _

Link rushed toward his fallen lady. He managed to drill his blade into the beast's leg, causing it to fall over, before he knelt beside Mari. He kept whispering, "No, no, no," as he stroked her bloodied face. Her beautiful face was marred by where the club hit her, her head smashed in, blood trickling down every which way. Her eyes were closed and one was smashed, juices flowing from the sunken area where her eye had once been. He heard the beast stir in an attempt to regain his footing, and turned and quickly sank his blade horizontally in his head as he sat up. The ogre fell back down, dead.

After the ogre had fallen, the village people started presenting themselves to the outside world again. They gathered around Mari's body, which Link held close to his chest, muttering to each other. Link wept tears of anger and grief onto his lady's wounds, uncaring as to who heard him sob like a child.

Rusl knelt beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He did not say a word, but he didn't need to. Link understood. As Uli had been Mari's best friend, Rusl was his, and he knew that when the man would later say he was sorry, he would mean it. Everyone in the village would mean it. Sera, Fado, Uli… All of them would be sorry, and they would mean it. But Link didn't want their sympathy or their pity. All he wanted was his wife back.

Mari's funeral and burying took place the next morning. Link had sat there in the same spot all night, sleeping by his wife and, upon waking, stroking her face in hopes it had all been a terrible dream and she would gaze into his eyes and say, "Good morning," as she did every morning, and they would kiss and make ready for the day and all would be as it should. But when he woke that morning, things were different. There were no deep sapphire eyes gazing lovingly into his. There was no exchange of good mornings. There was no kissing and no making ready for the day. And nothing was as it should be. The woman's face was bandaged after Link desperately splashed the healing water over it in hopes of it reviving her. The hole was dug while the diggers listened sadly to their friend's angry curses at the good-for-nothing spirit Ordona and his mournful pleas for the great spirit to resuscitate the love of his life. Mari was buried after Rusl pried her from Link's death grip, telling him it was no good holding on to what was no longer there. Each resident of the village took a turn at the grave, saying kind things about Mari and then gently taking the shovel and loading a pile of earth into her hole. Their words were kind, but they meant nothing to Link, who stayed by the hole the entire time, unable to watch dirt be thrown upon his beloved.

Once the hole was completely filled, every member of the village threw daisies onto her grave. Some had begun picking any old flowers, but Rusl and Uli went about reminding them quietly that only daisies were to be thrown. They didn't question it and did as they asked. By day's end, every daisy in the village was lying on Mari's grave. A small rock stuck from the ground to signify a sort of headstone, and engraved in them were the words, "Here lies Mari Rose, beloved wife, mother, and friend. May she rest in peace."

Link remained by the grave even as dusk approached. As the sun was setting, he put a hand on the ground. "Well, my darling," he said, "I suppose this is the end." Tears spilled from his eyes. He smiled bitterly. "But you promised you'd never leave me. Just this morning, you promised you would never leave me. And yet, you broke your word. You've never broken your word…" He pounded the ground. "God damn it, Mari, I can't live with this! Who is going to help me raise our son? Who is going to grow old with me? My life is nothing without you by my side. I… My life… is shattered, my kingdom fallen." The grief-stricken man stayed there the entire night, even after Rusl came by and told him he should get his rest.

A week later, Link took sick and died. The last words to leave his lips were, "At least… now, I'm with Mari." He was buried next to her and the rock that served as his headstone read, "Here lies Link, beloved husband, father, and friend. May he rest in peace."

His son was upset over the loss of his parents, but was still too young to really grasp what had happened. He was raised by Rusl and Uli until he was ten, and then he moved back into his tree house between the spring and the village. Over time, the words on the headstones faded away as chunks of the rock fell off, and no one went to put them back in again, unknowing as to whether it was to spare the deceased's son or themselves of any more trauma.

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**A/N: Whew, first chapter's over! That was a long one, eh? The story of Link's parents at the end doesn't really have any sort of effect on the rest of the story, but I really wanted to write about it and explain how a pointed-eared fellow grew up in the Ordonian Province with a bunch of rounded-eared folk, and plus I needed a reason to put the word 'thrice' in the title of this chapter. XD So, please don't comment on how it has 'nothing to do' with the story or how it was 'just a stupid filler'.**

**Okay, as always, reviews are welcomed, constructive criticism is appreciated, and flames are ignored. I will get right onto writing the next chapter… as soon as I get some sleep. ('Tis eleven o'clock at night right now.) Thank you, and good night!**

**PS: Tell me your favorite weapon in TP. If it's the same as mine, you get a cookie. ;)**


	2. A Simple Man of Ordon, Part One

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I didn't think I'd get so many (13 lol). Anyway, sorry I was two days over my deadline, won't happen again (I hope)!**

**Okay, for all of those who said the spinner was their favorite weapon (meaning Floating-Angel and Undertaker of the Sith), you get a cookie. For those who said the Hero's Bow (not Zelda's bow XD), you get half a cookie. **

**Enough talk. Onward to the story, where... DuNdUnDuN! Link TALKS!!!**

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**Chapter Two  
****A Simple Man of Ordon, Part One**

"Tell me, do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?" Rusl asked. "They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs… the only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world." He paused, and looked up at the spring. "That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight."

The gaze of the boy he was talking to did not leave the flowing water of the spring, but a questioning look crossed his face. "Rusl…?"

The man shook his head. "But enough talk of sadness," he said. "I have a favor to ask of you, Link." The sixteen-year-old boy with dirty blond hair looked up at Rusl with his light blue eyes. "I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow. Yes, it was a task set to me by the mayor, but… would you go in my stead?"

Link frowned slightly, not really understanding.

"You have… never been to Hyrule, right?" Rusl asked. He would know. Sadly, after raising the boy for ten years, he had never managed to take him to Hyrule… He had assumed it was unsafe. But Link was a man now, and had been living on his own, in a way, for the last six years. He sighed. "In the kingdom of Hyrule there is a great castle, and around it is Castle Town, a community far bigger than our little village," he went on. "And far bigger from Hyrule is the rest of the world the gods created. You should look upon it all with your own eyes."

Link's expression turned into one of simple gratitude. "Thank you, sir," he told the man.

Rusl smiled, and stood. "It is getting late," he noted. "We should head back to the village. I will talk to the mayor about this matter."

Link stood and took Epona by the reins, slowly following Rusl across the bridge and through to the gate by the spirit spring, which Rusl locked. They reached Link's tree house, the house he had lived in since he was ten and was told his parents lived there as well. He tied up Epona to the tree and nodded to Rusl, who walked away. He passed by his son Colin and ruffled his hair before continuing onward. Colin, a mere boy of nine, took his father's hand, and looked back at Link admirably and smiled. Link returned the smile, then climbed up the ladder to his house to eat something.

Just before dusk, a young man ran up to Link's house, unaware of a young lady taking Epona away to the spring, and yelled, "Hey! Link! You there?"

Link came to the window. "Yeah, Fado?"

"Hey, would you mind helpin' me herd the goats? They ain't listenin' to me lately!"

"All right," the boy told him, nodding, "I'll be right down."

Fado nodded gratefully, then frowned when he saw the empty spot by the tree. "Hey, where's Epona?" he asked.

Link climbed down the ladder. "I'm not sure," he said. "I tied her up right over there like I always do…" He frowned, then took off down the pass to the right of his house and into the spring. What he saw made him blush and enter very slowly.

The young lady that had taken Epona, only a year younger than he, stood and petted the horse on her face. She noticed Link and smiled shyly. "Oh, hi, Link," she said. "I washed Epona for you!"

This caused a somewhat goofy smile and a crimson blush to appear on Link's face. He walked toward his steed. "Thanks, Ilia," he said quietly.

She smiled. "Epona's a girl too, so you have to treat her nice like one!" Link grinned. "Oh, but listen, Link… Could you do something for me?"

"Sure, anything," he told her.

"Can you, erm, use a piece of grass to play that song for me? You know—the one Epona likes?" she added quickly.

He smiled at her and picked up a blade of grass. He put it to his lips and blew. The sound was like music, and it drew Epona right over to him. He petted her. "Hey, girl," he whispered to the horse. "Did Ilia clean you up all nice?" The horse snorted in reply. He mounted her.

"It's such a nice melody," he heard Ilia say dreamily. "Epona looks happy." She collected herself and said hastily, "Well, she's all prettied up now, so I suppose you can ride her back. But don't you make her do too much, all right?" He stayed there for a minute, smiling at her. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to help out at the ranch?"

He blushed and nodded. "Uh, yeah, of course." He turned Epona and dashed away. _I'm such an idiot, _he told himself. He rode past his house and through the village to Fado's horse ranch. On his way he passed by Rusl, who was practicing swinging his sword in front of his wife and son. "Hello!" he called to them.

Rusl looked up and waved, then continued to swing the sword. Uli looked up at him. "Good evening, Link," she said. "This is a lovely sunset, is it not?" She smiled. "It is kind of you to spend time with my husband, you know… it gives me time for myself!" she added with a laugh.

Colin walked up to him shyly, saying, "Hello, Link." He shifted in his footing. "I'm making you a fishing fod, y'know!" he exclaimed proudly. "All I have left to do is paint it, so get ready for fishing!"

Link grinned at the boy. "That sounds great, Colin," he told him. "I can't wait to try it out. Well, I'm off to put the livestock to bed."

"Fado havin' troubles with them again?" Rusl asked with a sigh. Link nodded. "Well, go on, then. Help him out."

Link nodded, turned Epona, and continued on to Fado's ranch.

"Sorry to get you over here in such a hurry, Link," Fado said apologetically upon seeing Link arrive. "These guys have been awful skittish lately, and they won't listen to a word I say. Must be something in the air… Again, sorry to ask, bud, but how's about you an' Epona herd 'em into the barn real quick? We ain't got much time, so you think you can do it for me?"

"It's okay, Fado," Link said, laughing. "I'll do it, fine." _Like I've done the past two days, _he added silently, smiling.

Fado sighed in relief. "Much obliged there, bud!"

He kicked Epona lightly on the sides and started yelling at the goats, herding them into the barn. Most of them he got in groups, but one of the goats was very stubborn. It decided not to go to the barn, but rather attack Link. He dodged it with ease and finally got it into the barn. He rode over to Fado again.

"Link, Epona… many thanks to both of y'all! I can cover everythin' tomorrow without havin' to trouble you, so you just sit back and relax, got that?"

"You sure you won't need my services again?" Link joked.

"Not a chance." The man grinned. "Oh, but, uh, how about today? We've still some time left before dark. You wanna practice with the fences?"

Link shook his head. "Not today. I'm kind of tired."

"That's fine. You go to bed now, all right?"

He nodded, and rode back home.

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"Hey! Wake up, Link! It's morning already!"

Link looked up from his breakfast at at the door. He quickly drowned his cheese-and-pumpkin soup and ran outside. "I was already awake, you know," he told Talo with a laugh. The younger boy smiled wryly. "So, what is it?"

"Oh! Yeah! Didja hear?" Talo was all excited again. "They're selling a slingshot at the store right now! A SLINGSHOT! Can you believe it?!"

"I wonder how powerful it is… I… I need… I must try it," came the freakishly deep voice of Talo's younger brother Malo. Like his brother, he had brown hair and pale eyes, though his were a tad lighter than Talo's.

Beth sighed. "Talo, if you and Malo want it so badly, just buy it at my parents' shop! Isn't that obvious?"

"Ehhhh? Do you see any Rupees in my hand?" Talo demanded. "I can't afford that thing! C'mon, Beth, can't you just loan it to us for a while?"

"You know I'd get in trouble for that!" she snapped back. "If you two want it, save up your allowances or something. Your lack of money is not my problem."

They all heard Malo growl, "But… our allowances are terrible… Aww, I wish I was born into a family with a slingshot instead of one with a waterwheel…"

"Come ON, Beth! We just want to LOOK at it a little!" pleaded Talo. "So can you get it? The slingshot? From the shop?"

"Yeah, and if you can't do that, let's just trade familes, all right?" Malo put in.

"I already said no! Knock it off!"

"Guys, guys," Link said, finally interrupting them. "Why don't I go buy the slingshot for you?"

Talo brightened and Malo's eyebrows raised. "Really?" the older brother asked. "You'd do that?" Link nodded. "You're awesome, Link!"

"Yeah," Malo muttered, "surprisingly awesome."

Link smiled and took off. Malo was weird. Everybody knew that. He wasn't even older than six, and he was extremely intelligent and almost a little creepy. He noticed Beth's father looking up at an angry-looking beehive. "Mornin'," Link said to him.

"Oh, well, hey there, Link," her father said, his gaze shifting to Link. "Got a day off from work today, hmm, m'boy?" Link nodded with a grin. Beth's father sighed. "Not me, though. The wife's been hassling me… Today's the day to restock our store."

Link laughed and looked up at the beehive. "So, what's that got your interest for?" he asked.

"Ahh… yes, some Ordon bees built themselves a fine nest up there and I was thinking about knocking it down. Our cat didn't come home yesterday, so the wife's in a bad mod. At the very least, I need to bring something home to her."

"So… a beehive?"

"No, no. I want to knock it down so I can get at the bee larva inside."

"Ahh," said Link, finally understanding. In Ordon, people often used bee larva to add a delicious flavoring to soup. Link hadn't had any in his soup for breakfast this morning, since it was not something people put into their food on a regular basis, but he'd had it before at parties and such. He, like the rest of the village, found it to be very delicious. "Well, good luck with that." He laughed and ran off again toward Sera's shop. He was stopped by someone's yells for his attention.

"Hey, Link! Over here!"

He looked up. "Oh, hey, Jaggle," he said, waving to Talo and Malo's father.

"There you go! Your voice carries well, as usual! Come climb up these vines for a minute and talk to me, boy!" Link nodded and jumped onto the vines, then climbed his way up. Jaggle pointed across the stream. "Look, check this out. Isn't that Sera's cat over there?"

Link squinted, and sure enough, there was a white and orange tabby standing at the riverbank, looking into the waters. "Yeah, I see it. What's it doing way over there?"

"I dunno," said Jaggle, shrugging. "He's just been sitting there next to my house all day, having a staring contest with the creek." He laughed. "Heh, you don't suppose he's thinking he's gonna catch a fish, do you? That's funny. A cat can't catch no fish!" Link laughed. Jaggle smiled, then went on, "Anyway, that's not what I was meaning to tell you about. I want you to take a look at something." He pointed over at a ledge. "See that grass growing there on the edge of that rock? Haven't I seen you whistling with that stuff? I figured it was pretty rare to see it growing in a place like that, so I thought I'd let you know."

"Thanks, Jag," Link said with a smile, using the nickname nearly everybody called Jaggle by.

"No problem. I bet you could easily hop over those rocks with just a quick little jump, couldn't you?"

"Yeah, probably. But I promised your boys I'd go to Sera's and get them that slingshot she's got, so maybe later, all right?"

He laughed. "Oh, sure, whatever floats your boat. I don't want you wasting all your money on those kids, though."

"It's all right; I don't mind."

"Well, okay, if you're sure."

Link nodded a goodbye and hopped down and walked into Sera's Sundries, the village shop run by Beth's parents, namely her mother, who, normally cheerful and with a bubbly personality, was half lying on the counter, examining a bottle of milk, looking mournful. She looked up when Link entered. "Oh, my, if it isn't young Link. Welcome, m'dear."

"Sera, what's wrong?" Link asked. "You look upset."

She sighed. "You… didn't happen to see my little cat out there, did you? He ate the fish we were going to have for supper last night, and I gave him a good scolding, but then he went out and hasn't returned. I'm so fraught with worry for him, I've exhausted myself." Sera's cat? Didn't he see the tabby just moments ago by the bank?

"I'm terribly sorry, Sera," he said. "Why don't I go look for your cat for you?"

"Oh, would you? I don't mean to ask… in fact, I'm really not even, but…"

"It'd be my pleasure."

"Goddess bless you, boy."

Link nodded and hurried outside. He laughed to himself, wondering if he would ever _really_ get a break from work. He had gotten himself into this mess, he'd admit, but it seemed like he could hardly say no to helping somebody, anybody, in need of it. Ah, but such simplicity was beautiful in the world, was it not?

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**A/N: All righty, then. Let me answer some reviews, huh:D**

**Spiritual Stone: Fixed it. :) I was a little skeptical about that too when I wrote it, but in the end I ignored it. XD And yes, Link is the only pointy-eared fellow in Ordon. That makes him extra special. -grins-**

**Centauri Cruxis Angel: The bow would be my favorite if not for the almighty spinner. 3 It's not unoriginal! It's the best!**

**Flameshield: No, Link's dad, the one that died, was named Link because _his_ parents, pure Ordonians (and his dad was not named Link), were like, obsessed with the Hero of Time legend. XD And so he and his wife Mari named their son Link, so he's Link Jr. Link's dad is in no way related to the Hero of Time, however, his mother on the other hand… Also I only put it the Midna, Zelda, then the Ordon scene order because Midna rocks and must go first. :D**

**Floating-Angel: -hands you a cookie- I don't like the ball and chain either. It was a real pain to get, at least for me. -.-**

**IGAF-kun: More detail? Ack! Be more specific! You're melting my brain! lol**

**Undertaker of the Sith: Oh yeah, ten times hotter. And pixelated OoT Link is pretty damn hot. XD I liked Navi. Midna just happens to be a whole lot more awesome. And also… -hands you a cookie-**

**kellythegreat: Wow, I didn't think it was that great. Thanks!**

**Anonymous: I would, but there is school and everything to work around, so…**

**Kayari of Midnight: I'm glad you liked it. I'm only thirteen, though, so it couldn't possibly have been _that_ well written… XD**

**And thanks to SacredBlade, LightningTimberwolf, Legendary Kitsune, and Simone for your reviews! Now you get three cookies if you can correctly tell me who Link's mother is a descendant of.**


	3. A Simple Man of Ordon, Part Two

**A/N: Sorry I'm a little over my due date again… I'm not having the greatest time with my best friend right now, and being the capable actor that I am (or actress, whatever), nobody at school can tell that I'm upset with her and jealous of a seventh grader that she seems to like more than me, even though she says it's not true and I'm still her best friend. But I have my doubts. Yeah, sounds like a stupid sob story, so I won't go on about it here. Anyway, here's the story, a little boring still, but it must be written (so I think.. quiet! XD) I changed some things… a bit, actually, but whatever. Annnddd…. yah. Next chapter will be more exciting, seeing as Link will actually be fighting monsters. :D**

Happy Valentine's Day :3

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**Chapter Three  
****A Simple Man of Ordon, Part Two**

Running behind the shop and onto the dock, Link dove into the water and began to swim to the opposite shore. It was a hot day, and the water felt good on his skin. Though autumn would be coming any day now, it was still a very hot summer, or as hot as it managed to get in Ordon.

He climbed out of the water, reddish hair dripping in his face. It was peculiar that the particular color of his regular blond hair made it look almost red when wet. The cat ran from him the moment it saw him. He figured, maybe if he caught a fish, the cat would come back, but he had no fishing pole.

But… wasn't Colin making him one?

That in mind, he swam again through the water to the dock by Sera's shop and ran up the hill into the little area of the village that his home resided in. All the kids were still there, the boys begging Beth for the slingshot. They looked at him eagerly when he came back.

"Sorry, I don't have it yet, but I will," he told them, trying to ignore the disappointment on Talo's face and the impatience on Malo's. He found Colin by Epona and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned.

"Hi, Link," Colin said shyly. "Don't you have the day off work today?"

"Yeah, I do. Say, do you happen to have the fishing rod you said you were making me?"

"Well… um…" He twisted a foot into the ground nervously. "Yes, I finished it, and I planned on giving it to you first thing in the morning, but, you see, my dad told me to wait until you came out to get it, so I didn't bring it to you."

"Oh. Well, where is it, then?"

"My mom's got it…"

"Thanks, kid." Link ruffled Colin's hair, tapped Epona on the side of the head, and took off again for the main part of the village. He looked around and spotted Uli. On his way there, he noticed Beth's father throwing stones at the beehive. He would've stopped and asked what he was thinking by this, but he knew the man was a terrible thrower, and was not making any shots, so he continued on.

"Good morning, Uli," he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. She was like a mother to him after all; a small peck meant nothing.

"Good morning to you, Link," she said. "If you are looking for Rusl, he's out practicing with his sword somewhere." A troubled look lingered on her face.

He frowned. "What's wrong, Uli?" he asked.

She sighed. "Did you happen to see a cradle floating around somewhere, by any chance? It's Colin's old cradle, you know, the one your mother made me…?"(1)

"I'm so sorry, Uli, but I haven't." Link's ears drooped, then perked back up when he said, "I could go find it for you."

Her face brightened. "Oh, would you mind terribly, dear? I would hate to have you running around doing things when you should be relaxing on your day off, but…"

Link smiled. "It's really, truly no problem at all. I've nothing else to do. Work gets me so busy, that when I don't, I really haven't the faintest idea how to occupy myself."

At that she smiled, but a bit sadly. "All right, but do make sure to not forget how to have a little fun every now and again, all right?"

"I'll try not to." He grinned. This was the same Uli he'd known for all his days. Growing up with her made her a permanent parental figure in his mind. He wished he could remember his parents. They must've been wonderful people, from all the stories he'd heard about them. He knew how they died—he'd been informed when asked at seven—but he still had trouble believing that that was the thing that put him in Uli's gentle care for so long.

Without another word, Link waded into the stream and ran in it up north. He stepped into deeper waters by Jaggle and Pergie's waterwheel, and swam again past Sera's little tabby who fled upon seeing Link. Suddenly, his ears twitched at the sound of monkey squeaks. He swam toward the sound, heading into the little swimming hole in the northeastern part of the village. The hole of water had a rock jutting out of its floor and reaching nearly seven meters out of the water. On its peak danced a cavorting monkey with Colin's old cradle held above its head like a trophy.

Link growled. That was a very precious thing that Uli had cherished since she received it. He swam closer to the chimp, yelling at it in an attempt to scare it into either dropping its precious trophy or falling into the waters so he could take it. The monkey ignored him, and then did a sort of thing that looked almost like it was sticking its tongue out at him. Link was mildly offended. How was a monkey causing so much trouble? He treaded water, trying to think up a plan, which was awful hard with the animal's screeches blaring in his ultra-sensitive ears. So he went underwater to drown out the sound and swam back to the village shore. He sat on the dock by Sera's, pondering this issue. Finally, an idea came to him.

He made his way to the ledge that Jaggle was on. He hopped onto another ledge, then onto Sera's roof, then two more before reaching the last large rock-ledge jutting out of the water. He looked; he could see the monkey from here, perfectly. He plucked one of the special leaves and began to whistle a tune. Nobody had taught it to him, though everyone did say that only his mother had been able to make music with grass. Rusl had told him the lyrics by which his father sang while his mother played. He blew on the grass, thinking of these lyrics as he did so.

_"By my plea, thou shall come aid me__."_

A brown hawk, whom Link had named Ketsu, always flew and perched on his arm only moments after he finished whistling the song. He did the same now. "Hello there, Ketsu," he greeted the bird. "I have a job for you." He pointed out the monkey and showed him the cradle. He released the big bird, who flew after the monkey and grabbed the cradle in his talons. He flew back to Link and dropped the item into his hands, then flew off.

Satisfied, Link hurried to return it to Uli. She was extremely grateful and took it from him, thanking him repeatedly.

"By the way, wasn't there something I needed to give you?" she asked.

"Colin told me you had the fishing pole he made for me…?"

"Oh, that's right! Come, come, it's at the house. Follow me, dear." Link nodded and followed her back to her house. "I'll just be a moment," she told him, disappearing into the house. She returned not with the cradle she carried in but a yellow fishing rod with a colorful bobber at the end. "It is a little… unpolished," she said slowly, "but Colin made it for you. Under Rusl's instruction, of course!" She laughed. "He worked very hard on it. I'm sure he'd love to see you use it around the village."

Link nodded. "Ah, yes, I'm very sure of that," he said, grinning. "I'll be sure to use it often."

"I don't doubt that." Uli sat on the ledge of her porch and smiled gently. "Colin is a sweet boy. He's just a little timid, is all. I want him to grow up to be just like you. Kind, thoughtful, selfless, always willing to do whatever to help anybody…" Link blushed lightly, which he always did when given a compliment. It wasn't nearly as bad a blush as whenever Ilia gave him one, though. It seemed as though Uli could tell that Ilia had crossed his thoughts, for she laughed softly and said, "You've grown into a fine young man, Link. I'm sure you'll have no problem winning over Ilia's heart, if you haven't already." At this, Link's face turned a bright crimson. He knew it was obvious, at least to Uli, of his affection for the girl he'd grown up with. She was the only one here around his age, and she'd been like a sister to him all these years. But lately, the brotherly-sisterly feelings had changed into something quite different.

He murmured a small goodbye. She thanked him again for the cradle, he thanked her for the fishing rod, and slowly walked away. _I'm sure you'll have no problem winning over Ilia's heart, if you haven't already. _What a thing for her to say! But still… it got him thinking. Could he really make Ilia love him? He wasn't sure, but he decided to push the thoughts away and finish his errands.

He took his new fishing rod across the bridge to Jaggle and Pergie's house, where the tabby hissed at him. He ignored it and, remembering what Sera had said about the cat and the fish, cast out his line. He was never really much for fishing. He had the patience, sure, but he simply didn't enjoy it as well as some other people did. He wasn't all that fond of the taste, either. He preferred things that grew from the ground or trees, or meat, which was a rare and expensive delicacy only bought and eaten on a special occasion in Ordon. They had poultry and goats, but they didn't match the taste of red meat. Cows were expensive these days, so no one had them here. If only someone could buy just two, a bull and a cow… that would be something to look forward to.

The line tightened and he pulled. Within moments the fish was in front of his face. It was a greengill, a popular catch, that looked to be about ten inches. He threw it back in the water without thinking. Sera's tabby was looking at him with interest. He quickly cast his line and caught another fish, which he dropped on the grass. The cat lunged and picked up the fish in its mouth, then scurried back to Sera's via the bridge and inside through the cat door. He followed the feline creature, but entered through the front door instead. Sera was feeding the little cat some milk, who lapped it up in the typical tidy catlike manner. She noticed him and grinned.

"Oh, thank you, Link!" she exclaimed. "You brought my little kitty Link home, didn't you?" Link cringed slightly at the fact that she'd actually named the cat after him, but smiled anyway and nodded. "Look at the way he laps up that milk… so cute! Say, dear, would you like some?" She held up a bottle. "I'm in a good mood, so it's free of charge!"

"Sure, why not?" He took the bottle halfway full of milk and took a small sip from it.

"You can keep the bottle, dear. I've plenty; one isn't much of a loss."

"Thanks, Sera."

"No problem." She stood up straight. "So, you interested in anything here? We've got more milk, ten rupees for a refill in your bottle; bee larva for ten rupees, good for fishing bait and your absolutely delicious famous soups"—she winked; Link blushed—"and a slingshot complete with fifty pellets for thirty rupees. It's just a little something I got for the kids. Really, it's only a toy, but it stings something awful if you're hit by it."

He pulled thirty rupees from his pocket. "Here you go," he said. "I'll be taking the slingshot, please."

"What are you doing, buying that?" she demanded, giving it to him despite her rants. "You're far too old for toys!"

"It's not for me, it's for Jag's kids."

"Oh, I see. They low on cash?" He nodded. She sighed. "Figures. Anyway, don't spend too much of your money on those boys, now. We wouldn't want your hard-earned money to go to waste!"

With a grin, he waved and left, tucking his slingshot into his sash. On his way back up to his house, he passed by Rusl, who stopped to say, "Well, hello there, Link, just in time. I dropped something off in your room. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Thank you."

The older man eyed the fishing rod in Link's hand and smiled. "I see you've got the fishing pole Colin made you. Tried it out yet?" Link nodded. "He'll be pleased. Have a good day, Link." With that, he left.

Link produced the slingshot to the kids who, surprisingly, were still there. "Here it is," he said.

"Wow!" Talo exclaimed. "You actually bought it for us? Thanks a ton!"

"Oooh, you had enough money to buy it, didn't you, Link?" Beth asked. "Can you use it?"

---

Twenty minutes passed before Beth said, "Preparations complete." Link stood before many sloppily painted pieces of round wood nailed to trees to serve as targets.

"This is awesome," said Talo, excited. "We can see just how powerful the slingshot REALLY is!"

Beth smirked. "Hmph. I can't believe you two are so obsessed about something this stupid. Just goes to show what little boys you still are…" Ignoring their glares, she turned to Link. "They'll never shut up about it if you don't show them, Link, so you might as well."

Link put in a pellet and pulled it back, aiming for a target. He loosed, and it flew into the target, breaking it into many pieces. It fell to the ground. Beth and Talo yelled in amazement. With newfound swiftness, Link hit the other five targets and then smashed the two scarecrows nearby him. This time, even Malo's jaw dropped.

---

"That was so amazing, Link," Talo said. "You're awesome!"

"By the way," said Beth, "were you expecting Colin's dad to come by and drop something off? 'Cause he did."

"Yeah, yeah! What'd he get you?"

"I command you to tell us," Malo said in his freakishly deep voice. They all looked at him and backed away once.

Link headed for his house. "All right, let me go get it." He started up the ladder before noticing a big spider on it. He stepped back onto the ground and hit it with the slingshot. It shrieked and fell to the ground. He moved it out of the way with his foot and climbed up into his house. Once inside, he found a wooden sword leaning against the wall where a pot held the soup he'd had that morning. He picked it up and examined it, swinging it once in an open area where it wouldn't hit anything. He retreated outside to show the kids, who were ecstatic, particularly Talo.

"That's so cool! Can I use it for a while? You know, to get rid of those annoying monkeys that keep causing trouble here?"

"I don't know," Link said slowly.

"Well, at least show us how to use it!" Beth asked.

He saw the pleading look in Beth and Talo's eyes, and the most pleading a look could get in Malo's. Finally he sighed. "Oh, all right, fine…"

"YES!" Talo yelled.

Link stepped up to the scarecrow he hadn't destroyed earlier. "Okay," he said, pulling out the sword. "This is called the slice. It's just thata plain, horizontal slice." He swung it at and hit the scarecrow. Talo copied the move with a stick. "Good," he told the boy. "Now this next move is the vertical slice. It's like the horizontal slice only vertically, like this." He pulled up his sword and brought it down.

Beth wriggled her body around, like she often did. "Oooh, Link, I want to see that one where you tighten up all your muscles and jab it forward! It's _sooooo_ cool."

Malo rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, the _stab_?"

Link smiled and stabbed the scarecrow. Beth was enthralled.

"Oh, now how about that little twirly thing you do? What do you call it…?"

"The spin attack?" Link asked. Beth nodded. He pulled back his sword and spun it around three hundred sixty degrees, smashing the sword into the scarecrow.

"Thanks, Link, I love it!" She smirked. "Sorry you had to waste all your time doing all this stuff for these brats. Especially on your day off!"

Talo protested, "Wait, wait, he's got to show us the jump attack before he goes!"

"Sure, not a problem." Link raised his sword and lunged at the scarecrow, yelling a loud "HYAAH!!" as he brought it down on the thing. It broke and all the kids gasped in awe.

"Thanks, Link!" Talo cried. "I think I get it now… sort of. So now, any time one of those annoying monkeys come around—AH!" Everyone turned to see him staring at a monkey with a pink rose behind its ear gazing at them. It turned and quickly took off. "GET BACK HERE, YOU!" Talo took off after it, and everyone followed. Link noticed Colin, who'd been quietly watching everything, stand there and watch them run off.

Link found Beth first. She pointed in the direction opposite from which they came and said, "Those two went chasing the monkey like maniacs. I can't keep up…"

He hurried up ahead to find Malo by the spring, who told him that Talo had taken off. Link raced off in the direction Malo pointed. He entered the Faron Woods and climbed over the gate that blocked his path. He rushed off past the Faron spring and deeper into the woods.

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A/N: (1) In the game, Uli says she herself made the cradle, but I changed it to Link's mother having made it for Uli as an early wedding present before she died.

So, uh, to answer your reviews! (Quite a bit, I was surprised!) Last chapter I offered three cookies to whoever figured out who Mari, Link's deceased mother, is a descendant of. Let's see who (if anyone) won…

Sacred Blade: Thank you, and no, Link is not related to the royal family in any way, and therefore, neither is Mari.

tikitikirevenge: No, no, not word-for-word… however, I will keep many lines that I love, and I was not feeling well while I wrote the previous chapter, so word-for-word was pretty much my way to go. But! Won't happen again. ;)

DynturaDJ: Yeah, the spinner rules! But the double clawshots are fun, too. :D And of course, Link's reliability is one reason he's so well liked.

Flameshield: You're welcome. I don't want any confused readers. o.O And while you're halfway correct, that's not necessarily true. In Wind Waker, it even said in the game while the King of Red Lions spoke to Jabun that "no, he (referring to Link) is in no relation to the legendary hero…" or something along those lines. So if Wind Waker Link isn't related to Ocarina of Time Link and ended up with the Triforce of Courage… wow, that's weird. Anyway, here is one and a half cookies for being half right. :)

DuskW: Wind Waker wasn't really at the top for me, it still wasn't as good at OoT. Only TP has been able to push OoT down from first place. But I don't think TP will be moving from first, since it's unlikely any more games with Midna will be made and be as cool as TP. And… Impa? Umm, wow, what gave you that idea? No, sorry, that's incorrect. By far.

Gira: Yes, I'm only thirteen, but just until the end of May! Then I'll be fourteen. :D And it's okay, I like long reviews.

rivendellelve: Glad you like it. I still don't think it's anything special a story, and it'll get more exciting soon but I really don't see how I'm that well-written, but if you people say so… :D Yeah, Mari's a descendant of OoT Link, but there's someone else too. Nice try though; you get one and a half cookies.

Simone: You get one and a half cookie, you're right that the ball and chain sucks, and yeah I'm only thirteen.

Undertaker of the Sith: I'm glad you like it. This chapter was rather uneventful as well, but you can tell the next one really won't be, and it'll be the start of when I actually have a lot of fun with this, though I won't be_ particularly _enjoying myself until a certain wolf meets a certain imp… -snicker-

Thank you Legendary Kitsune, Aeros Fujita, and everyone else for reviewing, and congrats to Lightning Timberwolf for getting it right. -hands you a cookie- I'm semi-working on a story about Mari's mother right now.


	4. Day of Delivery? Maybe Not

**A/N: Ack! I'm late again! Here you go, written up in a matter of one hour! I hope you like it, it's more actiony (if that's a word) two lovebirds yell at each other, and I get to write my favorite character:D Well, I'm happy with it. Are YOU? (lol I feel like a commercial XD)**

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**Chapter Four  
****Day of Delivery… Maybe Not.**

A lantern was always a good thing to have in the woods, but Link, unfortunately, was very low on oil, and hadn't brought any money along with him, so he passed by the oil salesman that he always found hanging around and ventured straight into a dark tunnel. He knew his basic way around and tried to be as sparingly as possible.

On his way in, he nearly tripped over something. He turned to look at it and gasped. The light from the tunnel entrance crept across the floor and outlined a small stick. Link recognized the blue ribbon tied to it and realized it was Talo's toy sword. He clenched his teeth to hide his worry, if only from himself, since no one else was around. He tightened his grip on the wooden sword Rusl had given him and took off deeper into the tunnel.

Blindly running through the tunnel, Link ran straight into something sticky. "Ugh!" he growled, stepping away. He pulled out his lantern to see, and a spark flew at his captor, which happened to be a large spider web that burned up in mere minutes. The embers fell neatly to the ground, and Link shivered, trying not to think of what had made such a large web. He used his little light to continue his trek through the darkness.

It was a milk run the rest of the way through, and at the first spot of light he blew out his dying flame and rushed outward. But before he knew what happened, he had large teeth clamped around his middle. He looked to find a… giant plant? Eating him? "What the…?" But it didn't feel too great, so there was no time for questions. He smacked the plant with the hilt of the sword, seeming to forget there was a blade, until the plant let go. He then slashed at its stem with the wooden blade and it fell to the ground, unmoving, with a sickly blue substance dripping from its mouth. He backed away, beads of sweat on his face. He wiped them away and looked down to find the blue goo around the spot where the plant had him in its mouth.

When he turned around, two ugly blue beings with clubs came after him. He dodged the first club and cut them both in half before he even realized what he was doing. When he saw a thick, green liquid gush from their halves and found it dripping from his blade, he nearly panicked. He'd never killed anything before. He knew how to strangle and cut off the head of a chicken or some other animal, but he never had been one to volunteer to help with that kind of work. And even when he had to, he didn't participate. But the green liquid moved in the same way blood would, so he had to wonder if this _was_ blood. He felt a bit light-headed.

A small key fell out of the pocket of one of the creatures. He picked it up. When he looked, he found that there was a locked gate not too far away, so he dashed over to it to try out the key. It fit perfectly and the lock fell off. "Well," he muttered to himself, "that worked." He gently pushed the gate open and found another one of those creatures facing away from him. He didn't want to have to kill again, but when he tried to sneak past unnoticed and it came after him, he found himself once again bringing down his sword. For a piece of wood, it sure was sharp, to his surprise.

_Well of course, _Link scolded._ Rusl wouldn't give me junk, would he?_

His ears twitched. Was that a monkey screech? He left the bodies alone and ran toward the noise. He was traveling in unfamiliar territory, but he knew that this was the pathway to the Forest Temple that he was walking on. He could tell when he saw it looming over him, even though it really looked like an oversized tree.

When he reached the source of the noise, he found Talo and the monkey in a cage. He jammed the sword right into the stomach of one of the creatures coming at him and pushed it off the edge of the platform. The other went running scared.

"Link, that you?" He looked and saw Talo looking up at him with fear. "Let us out!"

He nodded and said, "Get down." Talo obeyed and held the monkey down with him. Link beat against the wooden cage with his sword until it finally broke and he could kick the top half off. Talo and the monkey jumped out of the cage and Link found Talo hugging him.

"Link, I'm sorry!" Talo said loudly. "Please don't tell my dad about this! He always tells Malo and me, 'Never go into the forest, it's dangerous'. It is, it is!"

"It'd be best to," Link muttered, "but I don't think I will."

"Really? Thanks, Link!" The boy beamed up at him.

It was an easy trip home. Epona had somehow found her way toward the gate and he and Talo rode home. Beth never did admit to letting Epona loose, but Link knew she did it. A blue creature attacked them on the way home, but Epona ran him over. Both Link and Talo winced at the crunching and screaming of the creature.

---

After a good cleaning of the sword and his clothes, a long night of nightmares of the screaming creatures he'd killed, and a morning of rounding Fado's goats, Link remembered today was the day to go to Hyrule. He became so excited that he didn't notice Ilia standing in front of Epona until she said, "Hi, Link." He nearly fell off upon hearing her voice, and dismounted to make it look like he intended that to happen. She still giggled, and his face still burned red.

"Ah, Link," said the mayor, who also happened to be there. "You done herding?"

"Yessir," Link told him.

"Good." He put an arm around Link's shoulder and said, "Now listen up. The royal family requested this gift specifically, so it's real special. It'd be… well, not good, if the Ordonian ambassador was late for such an occasion. You following me, boy?"

Link grinned upon being called an ambassador, and nodded. "Yes, I follow you."

Suddenly, they both heard Ilia gasp. "What is this?" They turned. "Link, is Epona _injured_?"

He cringed upon seeing Ilia so angry at him. "S…sorry," he muttered.

"How could you, Link? I thought I told you to not push her so hard!" She scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Hmph, she hurt her leg jumping _fences, _didn't she, Link?"

At this he became a tad irritated. "She did not," he protested. "Don't make such accusations."

"Ilia, there's really no need to get so angry," the mayor offered.

"FATHER! How can you go so easy on him? You're the MAYOR! Start acting like one!"

When Link saw the mayor look down in shame, he found himself saying to Ilia, "You have no right to talk to your father that way. And what I do with my horse is no concern of yours." He dug his nails into his palms. "Who do you think you are, my mother?"

Both the mayor and his daughter gasped. Never had Link shown such an outburst toward Ilia, even if it was a very small one. Ilia, obviously hurt, yelled, "No, but I figured I may as well, seeing as you don't have one!" Link's mouth dropped, and Ilia snatched Epona's reigns. "Come on, Epona. I'm taking you to the spring. You'll be all right." She took Link's horse away.

The mayor scratched his head. "Oh, wow," he mumbled. "I've never seen you two so angry with the other. Link, I'm awful sorry for what she just said to you."

"It's… fine," he lied quietly.

The lie obviously wasn't sensed, for the mayor patted him on the back and said, "Now, the gift won't be delivered in time without Epona, so since you're not mad at her anymore, why don't you go get her back from Ilia?"

"Sure." Reluctantly, he jogged away from the mayor and after Ilia. He was stopped by Colin at his house.

"Oh, Link, it's you." He kicked at the ground. "Ilia came through here with Epona. Any idea why?"

"I've got an idea, sure." Link didn't want to let on how upset he really was. His stomach felt like he'd just eaten something bad and it was just sitting there. "Talo, Malo, can you guys move?" They were in his way. "Please? I need to go this way."

"Sure, Link," Talo said. "But first you need to give me your sword. I just wanna borrow it for a minute, honest!"

"Whatever. It's in my room." The boys hurried up into Link's house.

"Those two always tease me," Colin told him. "What's so fun about swinging a stick around? It's scary. I hate it."

"I don't like it too much, myself," Link admitted, remembering yesterday with a shudder. He started walking. Colin followed.

"Really? Oh, well, you're so good." There was a pause as they kept walking, and then Colin said, "You know, Link, someday, I want to be just like you. I don't wanna learn swords, or anything, but could you teach me to ride a horse sometime?"

Link smiled and ruffled the boy's blond hair. "Of course, kid. Whenever you want."

"You're too nice to me." Colin smiled, and suddenly took off ahead. Link sighed and continued to walk slowly._ Poor kid, _he thought sadly. "Link, I'm in here."

He turned and nearly walked right into the gate. "Whoa, what's this doing all locked up?" he wondered.

"If you want Epona back, you can forget it!" Ilia yelled at him.

"Ilia, you don't understand," muttered Colin. "You see, there was this monkey…"

While Colin chattered to Ilia about the monkey, Link snuck around and crawled in through a hole he'd found years ago. When he got into the spring, Colin was done, and Ilia was looking a bit sad. Epona snorted when she saw Link.

"So you still prefer your master over me, don't you, Epona…" Ilia sighed. "Don't worry about Epona, Link. The injury wasn't anything serious, and it's gone now. These waters are like magic, if there is such a thing."

Link walked toward her slowly. "Ilia… I hope you didn't mean what you said. Back there…"

"Oh, right… no, I'm so, very sorry about that. It was not my place, you're right. And that thing about your mother… well, I don't have a mother either, so I guess I wasn't in the right there, either. I'm sorry."

He hesitated, then put a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. I forgive you. And I'm sorry, too."

In an instant, Ilia had her arms around him. Link slowly hugged her back. She buried her face in his shoulder and apologized again. "Quit apologizing," he told her. "It's fine. I've known you forever; it's no big deal. Really, I'm all right. And you should be, too."

Colin coughed, and they let go of each other faster than if the other had burst into flame. "Make sure you come home safely," Ilia told him sternly when she'd collected herself. Link smiled, and nodded. But then his ears twitched. Who was coming in on such heavy horses?

Well, they weren't horses, they were boars, and they burst through the gate with their green-skinned, red-eyed riders armed as heavily as they were. An arrow was fired and hit Ilia, who'd been trying to run for the secret hole, in the back. Link ran to her but was hit with a large club and fell to the ground. Colin too was shot.

The monsters picked up and examined Ilia and Colin, and took one last glance around, just missing Link. One of them blew a loud horn that made Link's sensitive ears ache. A black and red thing appeared in the sky, and upon seeing it, the monsters took off and Link's eyes opened. He sat up. "Ilia? Colin? What was—" He looked around. Where were they? _Oh no, _he thought, seeing the broken gate. He scrambled to his feet and ran out, heading for the bridge. As he crossed it, he felt a strange feeling creep into the air, and what he saw when he crossed the bridge made him freeze in his tracks. It was a giant black wall that gave off a sort of golden light that he saw was also at its edges and in the wall like engravings.

Without warning, a giant black hand reached out and wrapped itself around his neck, pulling him into the black wall. He yelled loudly, and could feel the dark creature that he didn't open his eyes to see choking him without much effort. His hand began to glow, and he was dropped abruptly and the creature ran off.

He attempted to stand, only to find that he couldn't, and another strange feeling hit him like a two-ton boulder. His vision blurred and everything seemed to pulse around him with his increasing heartbeat. Finally the feeling of pain came and he let out a shout that was quickly replaced by a sort of growl. His eyes drooped and he fell limp.

---

"Ugh… I got to get home… I have to get back…"

The small being hobbled along the path. Her little legs couldn't hold her up any longer, and she collapsed. She lay there for a moment before looking up. A object hovered above her. She looked up at it tiredly, then, realizing what it was, an evil grin grew on her face. She stood weakly and grabbed it, screaming as it painfully locked itself onto her head. It was just extra weight on pathetically small legs that couldn't take it. _I'll get used to it, _she promised herself.

A shout and a blinding light drew her attention. She jumped and levitated into the air, flying over to where it was all coming from. She stood on a large rock and hid, peering at a boy with golden-brown hair struggle to get up. She watched intently as he yelled again and then—

What she saw made yet another devious grin plaster itself onto her face. _Yes,_ she told herself. _That's it. That's the key to my revenge! _She headed for him, but stopped upon the approach of a shadowy being that grabbed her key and dragged him away. Irritated, she hopped into the air and followed after. She wouldn't let her only shot of avenging herself get away.

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**A/N: Yay, an exciting chapter :D Now, to answer your reviews...**

**Flameshield: An owl? What owl? -shifty eyes- And yes, but if I want TP Link to be related to OoT Link, then he'll be related. XD**

**MythCreaterWriter: Well, I hope you enjoy the lack of in-game lines from this chapter. :D And I have reasons why Link's parents know the name of 'the legendary hero' and why I made Link sixteen instead of seventeen. My 'beef' with the ball and chain is that I forget to put it away, and then I can't move. XP And though I really liked Navi, Midna is, by far, better. :)**

**Gira: Nooo, May 26. Close though. :D I'm a Gemini. -puts on crazy sunglasses- 8)**

**Simone: Malon and Link. And I'm not so sure about the rocking thing, but I'd love for you to keep reading my stuff. :3 lol**

**Also thanks to rivendellelve, aziulmst, Sacred Blade, Legendary Kitsune, Scribble Scratch, Krayt-Eagle, and ??? for reviewing.**


	5. The Imp and the Wolf Boy

**A/N: Sorry for a few in-game lines, but I LOVE THIS PART :D And poor Link can't see in color anymore. :( Also, be warned, there is a **_**smidge **_**of what some people might call gore in here. I don't call it that for certain, but some people might. XO Anyway, I apologize for the lack of update, and I don't feel like making an excuse.**

**You may have also noticed I changed my name and erased six out of my eight stories. I explained it on my profile. But never fear! I am still Kioasakka, just with a different name, and this story shall not be deleted :D Also, to those who read _A Never Known Love,_ the long-awaited sequel is to come out before September 2007, guaranteed! **

**Baronfly: Nope, no bad dreams. But it was really creepy. o.O  
****Flameshield: Mayhap yes, mayhap no. ;)  
****Duke Serkol: Ah, yes, but I based mine off the fact that you saw their pan out vision and Link wasn't in it. Those things are not exactly the brightest, you know.  
****MythCreaterWriter: Everything's here for a reason. :)**

**Many thanks to everybody else for reviewing!**

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**Chapter Five  
****The Imp and the Wolf Boy**

When Link came to, he was lying on a cold stone floor with a chain around his front left wrist. All the colors seemed to have vanished from wherever he was, and thousands of smells entered his nostrils stronger than usual. He shook his chained paw. Wait… paw? He looked down at himself and yelped in the same way a dog would yell. He growled. What was he? A dog? Why was he a dog? He clawed at the chain, which was attached to the floor. He gripped it in his mouth and shook it. A slight noise made his ears twitch. His hearing was even more sensitive, he found, than usual. _Better watch that, _he told himself. He turned toward the noise. Someone was there. Someone little. He growled. The small person jumped in the air. He looked up, and then the being was right in front of him.

"I found you!" the person said. Link snarled. "Ooh, aren't you scary!" The being was a girl judging by the voice, had a black-and-white body with glowing green symbols all over—which Link saw as a shade of gray, as well as everything else, to his dismay—and orange hair coming out of a large… thing on her head. She laughed. "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Growling at me? Well, that's too bad, isn't it? I was going to help you, if you were nice."

Upon hearing this, Link quieted at once and stood up straight.

The girl-being giggled. "There now, that's _much _better!" she said. "You humans are obedient to a fault!" She tapped Link on the bottom of his chin twice. "Oops! But you _aren't _human anymore, now, are you? You're a beast! Aren't you lucky?" She grinned and jumped back when he snapped at her. He noticed she had one fang sticking out of her mouth. "There, there. You be a good boy and calm down. No need to bite!"

Link was not liking this person very much. But when a red light formed at her hands and flew toward him, breaking the chain, he could only be astounded. He'd been brought up to believe magic was only alive in faery tales, but here he was, free to go… sort of.

The imp looked at him sideways, grinning that grin of hers. "You look kind of surprised!" she pointed out, giggling again. "I'll bet you're wondering where we are, huh?" She jumped back and seemed to turn into small green, black and red bubbles before reappearing behind the bars. "Well, let's make a deal. If you can get over here, then mayhap I'll tell you!" She yawned, as if this would take a while.

He frowned and looked around at the cell bars. A pile of junk was stuffed in a corner, right next to the bars and the stone wall. He attempted to walk over to it and pawed at it once he had, noticing that the ground poking out from under it was dirt, then backed up and charged at it. Everything broke or flew somewhere, and he was left with a pile of broken debris scattered around him. He took a glance at the imp-girl, who was eyeing him, bored, then turned his attention back to the spot he was at. He saw that the whole bit ground was no longer stone, but rather exceptionally soft dirt. He began to dig at it, waiting to feel stone. He never did, but he did find that the same sort of dirt appeared to be on the other side. How it was he overlooked it, he wasn't sure, but he saw it now, so he dug his way into the ground, and then out on the other side. Link shook out the dirt from his fur and looked back at where the smirking figure had vanished from. _Where did she go? _he couldn't help but wonder. He wasn't too upset she was gone, but it was strange.

Suddenly, he felt something light fall on his back. He growled and ran awkwardly around to catch it, snapping his jaws. The imp-girl giggled and pulled on his ears, making him stop. "Well, I see you're not so completely stupid, as I thought," she told him. "Listen up, wolf. I like you, so I'll help you out of here. However… you're going to have to do exactly as I say, got it? You'll have to be a good little slave and do as I tell you, or I won't help you. And trust me when I say, wolf-boy, that getting out of here alive without my help will not be at all easy."

"_Why should I trust you?" _Link asked angrily, though he knew she wouldn't hear it.

To his surprise, she did. "Hey, I've helped you out so far, haven't I?" she asked. "Or should I put you back on your leash in that cell? Get moving."

He looked down. The whole walking on four legs thing wasn't really coming easy to him. Well, of course it wouldn't, considering he'd never been a wolf before. He put one leg forward, and the other one next, but his hind legs were still where they were.

"What's the holdup? Move!"

"_In CASE you hadn't noticed," _Link snapped, "_I've never been a wolf before, so you'd do well to let me figure it out on my own."_

"Oh, so scary," was the sarcastic reply. "What'll you do to me? You can't walk."

"_How is it that you can understand me? What are you?"_

The imp laid down on him, putting her chin on his head. He moved his eyes upward to see her smirking at him. "What am I?" she asked. "What are _you, _little wolf-boy? When you can answer me that, maybe I'll answer you." Link growled. She bent down and tapped his leg four times, then sat back up. "Now move."

This time, when Link took a step with his front left leg, his right back leg moved forward with him. He walked forward, amazed. _How'd you do that? _he asked.

"Too many questions!" she cried. "I'm getting bored of you. Hurry it up before I change my mind about helping you out of here."

He was getting rather bored of her, too, and her constant nagging, but he clenched his sharper teeth together and walked toward the door out, not saying anything. When he saw the door was closed, he began to paw at the ground to see if he could dig out again.

He heard an irritated sigh and felt the imp-girl kick his sides. "You can't open that," she told him irritably. "Try that cell over here."

Confused, but not really wanting to have to figure out this unknown territory by himself, he obeyed. He wandered into the open cell adjacent to the one in which he'd been imprisoned. A large metal circle hung out of the ceiling. The imp's hair began to glow, but he didn't notice, because an idea had come to mind. He backed up, then jumped, grabbing the bar in his mouth, and yanked it down before he let go. The wall beside him crunched, and was pulled upward, revealing a room full of water.

The imp still hadn't said anything as he jumped down onto the landing, and he took the silence for granted. Link walked forward, and stopped. What was that blue thing floating around in that corner? It looked like fire.

"See that?" the imp asked, breaking the silence. "Pretty weird-looking, huh? Try 'honing your senses', wolf-boy."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but it really wasn't hard. With just a thought his vision sharpened and the floating blue fire turned into a person. Link ran over to him, barking loudly. The person didn't seem to notice.

"Quiet down," snapped the imp. "That soldier can't hear you anyway."

"_Soldier?" _Where _was _he?

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When Colin came to, he was more than afraid. He was terrified. But he made sure not to show it when he saw Malo, Talo and Beth nearby. They were lying in beds in a dimly-lit room, with a man with dreadlocks over in the corner. He noticed Colin, who buried quickly under the covers more to hide from the approaching man.

"Little boy," the man said gently when he crouched next to the bedside, "you've awakened, I see. It's about time."

The blond boy hesitated, then poked his head out from under his hiding spot just enough for his eyes to see the man. He was trying so hard not to shake in fear, but it was difficult when it seemed to run through his veins.

"I'm not about to hurt you," offered the man. "My daughter and I helped save you and your friends here."

Colin peeked over at the three again, then back at the man. Finally, he squeaked, "Who are you? Where is this place?"

He smiled. "I am Renaldo," he answered, "and you are here at my house in Kakariko Village."

Only when Colin moved it to nod did he notice his head was bandaged. He touched it gently. It throbbed in a mild pain.

Renaldo noticed this. "You were bleeding from the head when we found you, boy. My daughter bandaged you up nice and well. She's a bit of a… let's call it a _knack_ for healing." He grinned.

Colin smiled meekly in response. He then sat up, slowly. He looked around the room. "Where's Ilia?" he asked suddenly. She wasn't in here. It was just him, Beth, Talo and Malo. "And Link? How come they're not here with us?"

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Link gasped when they were finally out of there. Well, in as much a way a wolf can. He was still a little dizzy from walking across tightropes in the last room, and then jumping and having that crazy imp's hair catch him. He'd never been a big fan of heights. He wasn't afraid of them, but he just didn't like them.

For a moment he wasn't so sure he was outside. He saw a large building spread out before him, and the sky was tinted a gold color, with little black dots floating upward. It reminded Link of—

"Ah! My, isn't the cloud of twilight looking absolutely lovely today?" the imp asked nobody in particular.

Twilight? Yes, that's what it reminded him of. But this wasn't any twilight he'd ever seen. What was with the black dots? He hopped off the ledge onto a roof and then onto a small wood platform. _Where am I? _he wondered.

"So, little wolf-boy, have you got any idea where you are _now_?" he heard whispered in his ear. He shook his head. She sat up quickly. "Are you serious? You have no clue as to where we are? What cave have you been living in all your life?"

"_Knock it off," _he grumbled irritably. She merely giggled and kicked him as a signal to move. He did, figuring the sooner he did what she asked now, the sooner he'd be out of this body and away from her. He ran across the roof until he caught sight of something that made him stop in his tracks.

"What's wrong _now_?" the imp demanded. Then she saw what he was staring at, and laughed. "Oh, that's just a shadow monster, no big deal. I'll bet you can defeat it so easy."

"_And how, pray tell, do I do that?" _Link snapped.

"Hm. I don't know. Just pretend you're in your normal body. It can't be much different, right?"

As if that helped. But still, he had to try. The creature had spotted him and was flying his way. He panicked and backed up a step, but a kick from his rider made him remember his thoughts. He clenched his teeth together and lunged at the beast. Clinging on with his jaws in its neck, he began to scratch at it. It yelled—or, at least, he thought it was a yell; it sounded more like horns—and shook him off. He scrambled to his feet again and he attacked it once more, this time mashing his fangs into the squirming creature and hanging on by sinking his claws into it. It shrieked and he felt a weird substance flow into his mouth. He grew faint and almost fell off.

"Get a hold of yourself!" his rider commanded him. She was hanging on to his fur and simply watching.

He did. He brought back his sense and raised his mouth. He sank it into one of the wings and jerked; it came off with a sickening tear. Black liquid poured from the open wound, and suddenly the creature began to tremble. Link instinctively let go and moved out of the way as it fell to the ground and exploded. The black fluid sprayed everywhere. Once it settled, Link spat the same substance from his mouth. He felt like he was going to throw up.

His rider wouldn't allow for it. "Here, hold on, let me make you look _somewhat_ presentable," she mumbled, flying off and landing in front of him.

_Presentable…?_ he wondered.

She flicked her hand and the creature's blood particles flew off of Link and landed in a puddle with the rest of it. She cleaned herself up the same way. "My, my, you couldn't have made a _cleaner_ kill?"

"_D-Damn you," _he told her. "_That was horrible! Don't expect me to do it ever again. You got that?"_

"That's my wolf boy," she replied with a smirk. "A bit commanding, though, I must say. Shall I remind you of who's in charge here?" When he didn't answer, she said, "Anyways, come on. We've got to move." She hopped back on.

There weren't any more monsters on the way to the mystery imp's destination, thankfully. She gave him the directions there and he followed them. It ended up with him back inside and dropping to a flight of stairs, up which he ran. He entered a slightly open door.

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**A/N: Yay, an exciting** **chapter:D And sorry, but I hate the water room, it's really boring XD So I put that scene with Colin in instead! Sorry, too, for the 'gore' with the shadow monster. I just had a bit of a hard time picturing exactly in what way Link killed those things, so I made one up. XDDD**


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